Garment



July 29, ,1947. E cAbcu s 4 2,424,600

GARMENT Filed Jan. 11, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ESTHER Gwous BY I ATTORNEY July 29,1947. E. cADous 2,424,600

GARMENT Filed Jan. 11, 1946 2 Sheets-Shea; 2

ESTHER. CADOUS- ATTORNEY Patented July 29, 1947 UNITED STATES "PATENT OFFICE 2,424,600 GAR ENT Esther Cadous, New York, N. Y. Application January 11, 1946, Serial No. 640,522

This invention relates to womens garments of the type including a bodice portion such as gowns, nightgowns, jackets, bathing suits or the like and particularly to garments of the above type having shoulder straps.

An object of the invention is to provide a garment of the foregoing type having a neck opening which may be adjusted easily and quickly to various contours in accordance with the dictates of fashion or the desires of the wearer.

Another object is to provide a garment of the above type having a V-shaped neck of suitable or conventional design which may be adjusted by means of ornamental tie strings or ribbons to create various pleasing decollete effects.

Still another object is to provide a novel and improved form-fitting garment which is neat and pleasing in appearance and is comfortable to wear.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

In accordance with the present invention the garment comprises a body portion having connected front and back panels with shoulder straps extending therebetween. The front portion may have a sloping or V-shaped neck openingwhich may be of any suitable or conventional design.

The front portion of the garment has holes or slits for the passage of tie strings or ribbons on each side of the neck opening, and a pair of ribbons is secured to the inside of the-garment adjacent each of said holes so that the paired ribbons may be inserted through their respective holes and tied into decorative bows at the front of the garment. Furthermore, the respective ribbons of each pair are of a length reachable around the shoulder strap to a juncture at the front of the garment so as to gather up and tie the material of the strap or a selected portion thereof adjacent the neck opening and thus vary the decollete effect of the garment.

The garment is preferably form-fitting, as hereinafter more fully described, and when in normal wear the pairs of tie ribbons project out through their respective slits and are tied into attractive bows for ornamental effect without changing the normal sloping contour of the neck opening which may be referred to as a conventional decolletage. Howeverganother method of tying is to insert only one ribbon of each pair through its aforesaid slit and loop the other ribbon around the neck opening to a juncture with its mate, so that, when said ribbons are drawn together and tied into bows, they will gather 1 Claim. (01. 2-73) up the material of the shoulder strap adjacent the neck opening and produce a moderately increased decollete effect. Still another method of tying is to loop one ribbon of each pair around i the entire shoulder strap, so that, when the two are joined into a bow at the front of the garment, the material encompassed thereby will be gathered up and. confined in such a manner as to create a more pronounced decollete effect.

Although the novel features which are characteristic of this invention are set forth more in detail in the claim appended hereto, the nature and scope of the invention may be better understood by referring to the following description, taken in connection. with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which a specific embodiment has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a womans nightgown embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the upper portion of the garment, showing the construction and arrangement of the tie strings or ribbons;

Fig. 4 is a similar View illustrating the method of tying the ribbons for ornamental effect without changing the neck contour of the garment;

Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating another method of tying the ribbons to produce a moder ate decollete effect; and

Fig. 6 is another similar View showing a third method of tying the ribbons to produce a more pronounced 'decolletage.

In the following description certain specific terms are used for convenience in referring to the various details of the invention. These terms, however, are to be interpreted as broadly as the state of the art will permit.

In the drawings, the invention is illustrated as applied to a womans nightgown comprising an upper waist or bodice portion In and a connected skirt portion l2, the material and constnuction of which may vary considerably in accordance with the dictates of fashion or the desires of the wearer.

In the embodiment illustrated, the upper or bodice portion ill of the garment has front and back portions or panels l3 and it connected by shoulder bands 1-5 forming conventional armholes l6 and a V-shaped neck H. The material of front panel 13 is gathered and stitched to provide bust pockets 18.

The garment is preferably form-fitting from the waist upwardly, and, in order to facilitate putting it on and off over the hips or shoulders, an insert IQ of transversely stretchable elastic fabric is secured to the rear of the garment between the skirt portion l2 and the back panel M of the bodice. Th elastic insert l9 forming the rear waist portion of the garment has triangular side sections 20 extending upwardly to the armholes I6, and a central triangular section 2| extending downwardly to the hip line, as shown in Fig. 2. When the garment is on the figure the elastic insert is retracted and no tension is exerted thereby; but in putting the garment on and oil, the elastic stretches readilyin the narrowest form-fitting regions which are thus easily drawn over the shoulders.

The front panel I3 of the bodice I iscomprised of a pair of outer pieces l3a and a .pair of inner pieces |3b secured by vertical seams and extending from the tops of the shouldersto the waist line. Each pair l3a and l3b forms a shoulder strap and the two inner pieces l 3b form a V-shaped neck opening. The pairs l3a, and l3b are joined by vertical seams 130 which are formed with narrow openings or slits Z3 disposed centrally above the respective bust pockets l8 and about midway between th armholes l6 and thesloping edges of the V-shaped neck ll'. Adjacent each of the slits 23 a pair of ribbons or strings 24 are stitched to the inside of front panel I3, enabling any or all of said ribbons 24 to be projected through the slits 2-3 to the front of the garment as shown in Fig. 3.

With all the ribbons 24 thus drawn through the slits v23 to the front of the garment, the ribbons of each pair may be tied together in an attractive bow as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4. When thus tied, the bows above the bust pockets enhance the aesthetic appearance of the garment without in any way changing the natural contour of the V-shaped neck ll.

When it is desired to change the contour of the neck portion to produce a, moderately increased clecollete effect. this may be accomplished in the manner illustrated in Fig. wherein only one ribbon 24 of each. pair-is drawn through the adjacent slit 23 while the companion ribbon of each pair remains on the .reverse side of front panel 13 and is passed over the sloping, edge of the V-shaped. neck I! and united with its mate, to form a bow. In thus tying the ribbons into a bow, the material adjacent the sloping edges: of the neck portion is gathered up. and the contour .of the neck portion is altered to broaden the neck opening and create a moderatedecolletage, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

An even more pronounced decolletage may be obtained in the manner illustrated in Fig. 6, wherein none of the ribbons 24 is drawn through any slit 23; but, instead the ribbons are passed around the opposite sides of the shoulder straps. The mating ribbons are then tied into a bow, thereby gathering and confining the material of the shoulder straps in such a manner as to produce a pronounced low-neck effect, as illustrated in Fig. 6.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is capable of various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claim.

The invention claimed is:

A garment for women, comprising front and back portions, bust pockets in said front portion, and shoulder straps extending between the front and back portions, said shoulder straps extending across the entire width of the front and back portions at their lower ends and becoming narrower at the shoulders to form a V-shaped neck opening at the front, and pairs of tie strings secured to the inside of the front portion of each shoulder strap at a point above the bottom of the neck opening and about midway between the sides of the shoulder strap, each shoulder strap having an opening adjacent the point of attachment of said tie strings, the respective strings of each pair being of a length reachable around opposite sides of said shoulder straps for tying at the front of the strap and also being individually insertable through said openings to gather and tie all or a part of the material of the strap and thereby vary the slope of the neck opening.

ESTHER CADOUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

